Time recorder

ABSTRACT

Existing industrial time clocks are capable of being misused by employing screening or cheater cards which are placed against, and inserted with, the usual time clock card, so as to blank out the printing of minutes with one insertion of the card, and the hour, on a second insertion. By such manipulation, employees can record on the card almost two extra hours of time which the time card will then indicate was worked by the employee. Such time clock cheating is prevented by the present invention in which special means are provided for use with the minute printing wheel to indicate the true hour when the minutes are printed on the card. Among the possible means shown are an additional hour wheel printing closely in conjunction with the minute wheel, either in plain figures or in code; an alternately colored ribbon for printing different consecutive hours; different character printing for different consecutive hours; different minute wheel disposition for different consecutive hours; and different card dispositions in relation to the printing wheels for different consecutive hours.

United States Patent [72] inventor Wardell L. Ward PrimaryExaminer-Joseph W. Hartary P.O. Box 75982, L05 Angeles, Calif. 90005Attorney-Smyth, Roston and Pavitt [21] Appl. No. 871,235 [22] Filed Oct.22,1969

Division ofSer. No. 691,379, Dec. 18, 1967, AllSTRIlCT: Existingindustrial tirne clocks are capableof Pat 3,484,790. I being misused hyemploy ng screening or cheater cards which [45] Patented Apr.6, 1971 areplaced against, and inserted with, the usual time clock card, so as toblank out the printing of minutes with one insertion of the card, andthe hour, on a second insertion. By such manipulation, employees canrecord on the card almost two [54] TIME RECORDER extra'hours of timewhich the time card will then indicate was worked by the employee. Suchtime clock cheating 1s 2 Claims, 17 Drawing Figs.

prevented by the present invention in which special means are [52] US.Cl 346/82 provided f use with the minute priming wheel to indicate the iClw G079 true hour when the minutes are printed on the card. Among of86, the possible means hown are an additional hour whee] print- 82 ingclosely in conjunction with the minute wheel, either in plain figures orin code; an alternately colored ribbon for [56] References cued printingdifferent consecutive hours; different character print- UNTTED STATESPATENTS ing for different consecutive hours; different minute wheelRel2,76l 3/ 1908 Hawley 346/83 disposition for different consecutivehours; and different card l,0l0,575 12/ 191 1 Blair 346/47 dispositionsin relation to the printing wheels for different con- 1,73l,550 10/ 1929Streckfuss 346/85 secutive hours.

I I I I I a g I I g I I I I I m z E I a I I I I Q w I I o g: I o I c a II I o o I o o I IZ/Jr A z/nfier an fa era/e 0/4, fan/r Aux/Jl/aarfi/fiee/ .F/axz/ad- Ere/r #04- Patented April 6, 1971 5Sheets-Sheet 1 NkvQ //VVJ/V"OR I ldardyl/ Mara 2% 7 ZZZ? Patented April6, 1971 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented April 6, 1971 3,573,848

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented April 6, 1971 3,573,848

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 TIME RECORDER CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATEDAPPLICATIONS This application is a division of Ser. No. 691,379, filedDec. 18, l967,nowU.S Pat. No. 3,484,790, issued Dec. 16, 1969.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to time clocks and particularly to improvements in such clocksto prevent fraudulent manipulation thereof, whereby employees may beenabled to cheat their employers.

Although industrial time clocks have been in use for more than a halfcentury and are quite universally employed both in government andprivate industry, it has recently come to the attention of the presentinventor that unscrupulous employees have devised and been using whatmay be referred to as screening or cheat'er" cards in order to make itappear to their respective employers that they have worked more hours ina day than they actually have worked. Presently known industrial timeclocks are quite vulnerable to such misuse and resulting fraud upon theemployers using such clocks.

Conventional industrial time clocks basically are constructed with ahousing into which a time card is inserted for stamping of the date,hour and minutes within the hour when the insertion of the card occurs.The stamping is accomplished by the triggering, upon the properinsertion of the card, of an impacting element which presses the cardquickly and firmly against an inking ribbon behind or below which aredisposed a series of dies on the circumferences of a plurality ofwheels, one for the month of the year, one for the day, one for the hourand one for the minutes within the hour during which the insertion ofthe card is accomplished. In some instances a wheel might be providedfor the year as well. Each of these wheels may be driven by some type ofmotor, usually electric, to rotate sporadically a preselected distancewith the passage of a preselected but different time interval. Thus, theminute wheel ordinarily will rotate completely with the passage of eachhour and make I [60th of a revolution at the end of each minute; thehour wheel, may move 1/24th of a revolution at the end of each hour; theday wheel, l/30th or 1/3lst at the end of each full 24-hour period; themonth, 1/2 at the end of each 30- or 31-day period. Alternatively, theday. month and year which may require manual resetting and not beoperated automatically by the motor drive.

In computing the employee's pay, the employer relies, for proof of thenumber of hours the employee asserts he has been in the employersestablishment, and presumably was working for his employer on any givenday, upon the time difference between consecutive time stampings whichare printed on the employee's time card.

However, time clocks of the type thus described can be made to printerroneous time information on the cards which are to be employedtherewith, by laying over and inserting with the regular time card whathas been referred to as a cheater" card. This cheater may be ofapproximately the same size as the time card to register therewith, butis provided with apertures through which, in one insertion of both thetime card and the overlaid cheater, only the hour is printed on theregular time cardfand upon the second insertion, only the minutes of thehour are printed on the latter. If this double insertion into the timeclock is made first at the end of a given hour, just before the hourprinting advances to the next hour number; and secondly, just after thehour printing so advanced, the result of the double stamping on theemployees card will be a time indication almost one full hour earlierthan the card was first actually inserted into the time clock. Thiscould give the employee one more hour in the morning. Conversely, thesystem can be reversed upon the employees departure to give him almostone full hour more in the evening. Thereby the employee's time cardwould indicate that almost two hours more was worked than was actuallydone.

Such cheatingis prevented by the present invention.

2. Description of the Prior Art Apparently workmen using time cards havebeen trying to devise methods to beat the clock for as far back in thepast as the time clock systems have been in use, and a number of patentsmay be found in which their objects have included methods or mechanismsfor preventing such time clock misuses. Thus the U.S.'Pat. to Horace R.McCabe, No. 1,215,683, issued in 1917 describes a handle lockingarrangement to prevent improper manipulation of the device. Certainother U.S. Pats. such as those to Goss et al., No. 1,348,218; toStreckfuss, No. 2,171,167; to Johnson, No. 2,501,904; Sprecker, No.2,645,551; and to Gross, No. 2,968,521, describe various systems forpunching or cutting the time cards upon each insertion to preventinsertion for a restamping on the same card area or to distinguishbetween in stampings and out stampings.

In addition, a US. Pat. to Cooper, No. 2,922,687, makes provision forthe punching of a time on a card in the form of coded punched holes sothat the card may be automatically processed by machine.

No prior art has been found, however, which has been directed topreventing the use of the cheater" cards to cause fraudulent timeentries to be made on the cards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The prevention of time clock cheating by theuse of cheater cards is accomplished by the present invention byproviding means, actuated by the drive for the hour wheel of the clock,which means provides an indication upon the time card at a locationwhich is preferably remote from hour stamping and closely associatedwith the minute stamping, such indication serving to distinguish thestamping of minutes during any particular hour from that stamping ofminutes which occurs during the preceding and following hour. Among thepossible means shown are an additional hour wheel printing closely inconjunction with the minute wheel, either in plain figures or in code;an alternately colored ribbon for printing different consecutive hours;different character printing for different consecutive hours; differentminute wheel disposition for different consecutive hours, and differentcard disposition in relation to the printing wheels for differentconsecutive hours.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a portion of atypical time card.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a type of a slicker" or cheater" card.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the stamping made by a time clock on the cardof FIG. 1 when a FIG. 2 slicker card has been superimposed upon it andboth are inserted onto the time clock the first time at 6:59.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3, but when both have been inserted the secondtime at 7:00.

FIG. 5 shows the net result of the two insertions with the slicker"card.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view, partially in perspective of a typical timeclock wheel arrangement with which alternate colored ribbons areprovided in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a portion of a time card which has beeninserted in a time clock with a wheel arrangement of the typeillustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a stamping die wheel arrangement inaccordance with another embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 8a is a plan view of a portion of a time card which has beeninserted in a time clock with an additional wheel according to theembodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a stamping die wheel arrangement usingcoded wheels in accordance with a still further embodiment of myinvention.

FIG. 9a is a plan view of a portion of a time card which has beeninserted in a time clock with coding wheels according to a still furtherembodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. I is a schematic diagram of a stamping die wheel arrangement inwhich the wheel dies shift axially alternately with each change of thehour, in accordance with a still further embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 10a is a plan view of a portion of a time card which has been usedboth legitimately and with a slicker" in a time clock with the wheelarrangement of the embodiment of FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a stamping die wheel at rangement witha card guide which shifts parallel to the axis of the wheels altematelywith each change of the hour, in accordance with a still furtherembodiment of my invention.

FIG. Ila is a plan view of a portion of a time card which has been usedboth legitimately and with a slicker in a time clock with the wheel andcard guide arrangement of FIG. I 1.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a further embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12a is a plan view of a portion of a time card employed with theembodiment of FIG. I2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In order to understand fully thenecessity for, and what is accomplished by, the present invention, onemust understand first, the manner in which unscrupulous employees areable to defraud their employers who use the types of time clocks whichare currently available and into which time cards, such as thatillustrated in FIG. 1, are inserted. Such time card I0 includes space 12upon which the time clock stamps the date, and an adjacent space I4 uponwhich both the hour and minutes within that hour of the card insertioninto the clock, are stamped.

The nonnally effective system of time clock stamping upon the employee scard, may, however, be tampered with to provide a false indication ofthe time of card stamping, by superimposing upon the time card 10 acheater" or slicker card 16 of the type illustrated in FIG. 2. This cardincludes two cutouts or windows 18, 20, the former of which is alignedwith the portion 140 of the space I4 upon which the clock (not shown)stamps the minutes of the hour of the card insertion, and the other ofwhich is aligned with the portion 14b of the space I4 upon which theclock stamps the hour of the card insertion.

The manner inwhich the cheater or slicker" card 16 is employed to securea false time indication for the benefit of the employee is illustratedin FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. When the slicker" card 16 is properly superimposedupon the time card 10 with hour window 20 aligned to receive the timestamping toward the end of a particular hour (for example at 6:59), andboth cards 16 and I0 are inserted into the time clock, the 6:59 stampingof the clock is divided between the 6 which is stamped upon the timecard portion 14b through the window 20 and the 59 which is stamped uponthe portion 22 of the slicker card 16 which portion is adjacent thewindow 20. When the clock reaches the next succeeding hour (in this case7:00), the slicker" card 16 is shifted on the time card 10 one space inthe direction of the arrow so that the window I8 is now adjacent thepreviously stamped 6:. Upon reinserting the two cards 10 and 16 thussuperimposed into the time clock, the clock now stamps the 7: upon theslicker" card portion 24, and permits the 00 stamping to be impressedupon the time card 10 in the portion 14a of the space I4, with theresult shown in FIG. 5, namely 6:00. Thereby, the employee is enabled toindicate to his employers accounting department that he worked some 59minutes longer than he was actually at the plant. Upon leaving, theemployee reverses the process to first stamp in the minutes (e.g. 59)and then the later hour I or 2 minutes later, again picking up on histime card some 59 minutes more than he was actually in the plant.

The present invention serves to prevent such defrauding by the use ofslicker" cards in any one or a combination of a number of ways. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the ribbon 28 which is interposedbetween the wheel dies 26 and the time card is comprised of a red half28b, and differently colored (for example, black) half 28b, and means(not shown) are provided to effect a shifting of the ribbon 28 laterallywith each change of the hour die 26a so that during one hour (e.g. 6:00to 6:59) all stamping is accomplished with the red half 28a, whileduring the next consecutive hour (e.g. 7:00 to 7:59), all stampings withthe wheel dies 26 are done with the black half 28b of the ribbon. Theresults of a legitimate use of the time card will produce the timestamping in consistent colorings as shown for the times 7:00, l2:00,lz00 and 6:59 on FIG. 7. However, where an attempt is made to defraudthe employer by the use of the cheater card in the manner explainedhereinabove, the time 6:00 will be produced in two different colors, asalso indicated on FIG. 7. Such color difference will enable theemployers accounting department easily to note the attempt by theemployee to defraud his employer.

Fraud is prevented by the embodiment illustrated schematically in FIG. 8of the invention by the stamping by means of the additional die wheel 30between the two wheels 32, 34, which produce the minutes, of the truehour during which the stamping of minutes occurs, so that the resultswill appear where the card is used legitimately as shown for the time7:00, l2:00, 1:00 and 6:59 in FIG. 8a, but as shown at 6:00 where the"slicker card is used.

The embodiment with the code wheels 36, 38, 40, 42, 43 shownschematically in FIG. 9, will produce code markings 44 according to apredetermined system, as shown in FIG. 9a. These wheels may be operatedto indicate in code the actual hour of stamping the minutes as a crosscheck for the hours stamped.

The shifting of the minute wheel 46 alternately with each succeedinghour, as contemplated by the embodiment of FIG. 10, will also beeffective to prevent fraud. Thus the use of the slicker" card willresult in a noticeable difference as shown in FIG. 10a for the allegedtime 6:00.

Similarly, the use of the guide 48, as illustrated in FIG. 11, willresult in detectable use of the slicker card, as shown for the time 6:00in FIG. lla.

In the embodiment of FIG. 12, the hour wheel 50 is provided with FIGS.52, 54 which are alternately different either in size or type for oddand even hours; and a two parallel minute wheels 56, 58 are disposed andmoved into stamping position alternatively with each change in hour.Preferably one minute wheel 56 will have type which matches the FIGS. 52for the odd hours on the hour wheel 50, and the other minute wheel 58will have type which matches the FIGS. 54 for the even hours on hourwheel 50. Any attempt to use a cheater" card with this type of systemwill result in a mismatching of hour and minute FIGS. as shown at 6:00on FIG. 12a.

While the several embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated schematically, any person skilled in the time clock art willreadily recognize the advantages of each of these different embodimentsand will understand how to coordinate the wheels mechanically toaccomplish the indicated results.

Other variations in the basic principles of this invention whereby theuse of the cheater" or slicker cards to defraud employers may beeffectively prevented will also occur to those skilled in the art towhom the foregoing disclosure may be communicated. All such variationsare intended to be comprehended within the scope of the followingclaims.

Iclaim:

1. An improvement in time clock systems of the type wherein there isimprinted upon a time card inserted in an aperture in the time clockhousing, characters indicating the month, day, hour and minute the cardis inserted in such aperture, such imprinting being accomplished bymeans of character dies disposed circumferentially about a plurality ofwheels adapted to rotate about a common axis or parallel axes, theperipheries of said wheels passing tangentially of the plane of thesurface of the time card when the latter is so inserted in the clockhousing, but each said wheel having a different rate of rotationrelative to the rates of rotation of the other wheels said improvementcomprising:

a. means operating in association with the wheel having the charactersindicative of the minutes within the hour of card insertion in saidaperture, but separate from the wheel having the characters indicativeof such hour of insertion;

b. said means comprising at least one additional wheel disposed in closeproximity to the wheel printing the minute-indicative characters, saidadditional wheel being set to rotate at the same speed as thehour-indicative wheel, and said additional wheel further being providedwith dies to stamp characters also indicative of the hour of insertionof the card into the aperture of the time clock housing; and

c. said means providing an imprinted distinction upon the card of anyparticular hour during which the printing of the minute characters onthe card occurs from the printing of the time characters which occurduring the next hour.

2. An improvement in time clock systems of the type wherein there isimprinted upon a time card inserted in an aperture in the time clockhousing, characters indicating the month, day, hour and minute the cardis inserted in such aperture, such imprinting being accomplished bymeans of character dies disposed circumferentially about a plurality ofwheels adapted to rotate about a common axis or parallel axes, theperipheries of said wheels passing tangentially of the plane of thesurface of the time card when the latter is so inserted in the clockhousing, but each said wheel having a different rate of rotationrelative to the rates of rotation of the other wheels, said improvementcomprising:

a. means operating in association with the wheel having the charactersindicative of the minutes within the hour of card insertion in saidaperture, but separate from the wheel having the characters indicativeof such hour of insertion;

. said means comprising a duplicate parallel minute printing wheel, saidduplicate wheel having dies printing figures different from the figuresprinted by the other minute printing wheel and being disposed to printminutes alternatively in lieu of the printing of minutes by said otherminute printing wheel which it duplicates; and the hour printing wheelshaving dies which print each consecutive hour with similar figuresdifferent from the figures indicative of the hour which it follows; andthe printing of the hour with one type figure being coordinated with theprinting of similar figures by a preselected one of said 2-minuteprinting wheels, whereby the printing of a figure indicative of any onehour of card insertion is matched with the printing of figuresindicative of the particular minute of card insertion; and

c. said means providing an imprinted distinction upon the card of anyparticular hour during which the printing of the minute characters onthe card occurs from the printing of the time characters which occurduring the next hour.

1. An improvement in time clock systems of the type wherein there isimprinted upon a time card inserted in an aperture in the time clockhousing, characters indicating the month, day, hour and minute the cardis inserted in such aperture, such imprinting being accomplished bymeans of character dies disposed circumferentially about a plurality ofwheels adapted to rotate about a common axis or parallel axes, theperipheries of said wheels passing tangentially of the plane of thesurface of the time card when the latter is so inserted in the clockhousing, but each said wheel having a different rate of rotationrelative to the rates of rotation of the other wheels said improvementcomprising: a. means operating in association with the wheel having thecharacters indicative of the minutes within the hour of card insertionin said aperture, but separate from the wheel having the charactersindicative of such hour of insertion; b. said means comprising at leastone additional wheel disposed in close proximity to the wheel printingthe minute-indicative characters, said additional wheel being set torotate at the same speed as the hour-indicative wheel, and saidadditional wheel further being provided with dies to stamp charactersalso indicative of the hour of insertion of the card into the apertureof the time clock housing; and c. said means providing an imprinteddistinction upon the card of any particular hour during which theprinting of the minute characters on the card occurs from the printingof the time characters which occur during the next hour.
 2. Animprovement in time clock systems of the type wherein there is imprintedupon a time card inserted in an aperture in the time clock housing,characters indicating the month, day, hour and minute the card isinserted in such aperture, such imprinting being accomplished by meansof character dies disposed circumferentially about a plurality of wheelsadapted to rotate about a common axis or parallel axes, the peripheriesof said wheels passing tangentially of the plane of the surface of thetime card when the latter is so inserted in the clock housing, but eachsaid wheel having a different rate of rotation relative to the rates ofrotation of the other wheels, said improvement comprising: a. meansoPerating in association with the wheel having the characters indicativeof the minutes within the hour of card insertion in said aperture, butseparate from the wheel having the characters indicative of such hour ofinsertion; b. said means comprising a duplicate parallel minute printingwheel, said duplicate wheel having dies printing figures different fromthe figures printed by the other minute printing wheel and beingdisposed to print minutes alternatively in lieu of the printing ofminutes by said other minute printing wheel which it duplicates; and thehour printing wheels having dies which print each consecutive hour withsimilar figures different from the figures indicative of the hour whichit follows; and the printing of the hour with one type figure beingcoordinated with the printing of similar figures by a preselected one ofsaid 2-minute printing wheels, whereby the printing of a figureindicative of any one hour of card insertion is matched with theprinting of figures indicative of the particular minute of cardinsertion; and c. said means providing an imprinted distinction upon thecard of any particular hour during which the printing of the minutecharacters on the card occurs from the printing of the time characterswhich occur during the next hour.